The Complete Bard's Murder Book

Introduction

In a castle on a hill there lived a king. A wise old king, with a beautiful queen, and whose two handsome sons were princes. There was also a beautiful princess. Oh, yes, and a bunch of dogs. One day, after the crops were in, it was time for the harvest fair, and absolutely everybody came to town. Yes, everybody. Yes, Janie, even the priest--they were still allowed to drink beer then. Oh, and there was a tournament with lots of brave knights in shiny armor. I'm trying to tell you how it happened, girl! Now, sit down and be quiet. Anyway, when the fair came, of course the traveling players appeared as they did every year. Yes, Janie, that troupe: the one the gaol is named after.

I'm looking for up to four players for a light-hearted, all-bard one-shot adventure. You are an AD&D2 single-classed bard or demi-bard with a kit out of the Complete Bard's Handbook (no mutant Player's Option stuff--sorry), as the subject line implies. Limit one (living) PC of any kit; don't duplicate. My wife will probably play the last PC, and would pick from the remaining kits.

Character Generation

To claim a place in the game, choose a kit, a race, a gender, name your character and give me at least a paragraph of background for a generic humanocentric medieval setting. Are you one of the traveling players? A musician? Are you connected to the royal family or townspeople in some way? Have you come to the fair to enjoy yourself? Do you care only about the tournament? Are you here to make money? A reputation? All of the above?

Your ability scores are 17, 16, 15, 14, 13 and 12. Arrange these numbers to taste, even if the result doesn't technically meet the class/kit requirements.

You may play as any one of the good alignments, regardless of kit: LG, NG, CG.

You start play with 5,000 xp (that's fourth level), 500 gp (total) to spend on equipment, and up to 500 xp worth of magic items from the DMG, Tome of Magic and (naturally) the Complete Bard's Handbook. Gunpowder exists in the setting, but so far has seen use only in bombards and cannons.

Three weapon proficiencies per your kit, and 4 non-weapon slots (plus any "bonus" for your kit). If you choose a secondary skill, do so according to the guidelines for your kit. At fourth level, you get 65 percentage points on top of the base thief abilities, modified by kit and armor worn (CBH, pp. 10-12).

HP generation: 6 + 3d6 + (4 x constitution bonus, if any)

Spell selection: choose 'em yourself from the PHB, ToM and CBH. Take five first-level spells and four second (Loremaster gets one extra of each), and they need not be memorized in advance. You may similarly ignore material components in casting; your singing, playing or recitation satisfies all verbal and somatic.

Notable NPCs

The Royal Family & Nobles

• His Royal Majesty, King Henry II:
• Her Majesty, Queen Dulcibella:
• His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Henry Charles, Heir Presumptive to the Throne:
• His Highness, Prince Charles Henry:
• Her Highness, Princess Mary Louise-Louisa

• Her Grace, Catherine, Duchess of Albion
• His Lordship, Durwen, Lord High Constable (of the Realm)
• His Lordship, Godfrey, Lord Mayor of the town of Garundy